In various work or leisure activities, it is often either crucial or highly desirable to employ some type of air conditioning means. In addition, since many of the above activities are away from one's work or business, it is desirable for the air conditioning means to be portable. In one common example, air conditioning units are used in automobiles or large, covered-cab agricultural machines. These air conditioning units are expensive and complex, often costing several hundreds of dollars to install and/or repair and utilize various components such as compressors, condensers, Freon or other coolant, etc. Although these air conditioning units work well, they are expensive and use a substantial amount of energy to operate as can be easily recognized by the poor gas milage one gets when driving with the air conditioner on. In addition, these cooling systems are employed primarily in closed surroundings such as in an enclosed cab of an automobile or agricultural machine. It is often desirable to provide cooling in open, unenclosed areas.
To address the need for cooling in open areas, fine mists of water have been used and released into the air substantially above the area to be cooled. The fine mist evaporates at it descends and provides a cooling of the air (evaporative cooling), thereby providing some measure of relief for individuals within the subject area. The fine mist is created by passing a liquid through a carrying tube and exiting through a nozzle such as the Cloudburst product manufactured by Mist & Cool, 1842 Washington Way, Suite B, Venice, Calif. 90291-4704. These systems however, are not substantially portable in that they are used to provide cooling for a party, wedding reception, etc. that involve many people. Consequently, the pumping mechanisms are large and require electrical connection to 110 volt AC line power. Consequently, the cooling system cannot readily be moved.
One prior art attempt to provide a portable evaporative cooling system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,371 entitled, "Method and Apparatus for Misting Vehicle Occupants." The '371 patent integrates an evaporative cooling system into a golf cart having the fluid reservoir and other components integrated within the golf cart body. This prior art system, however, suffers from several drawbacks. One disadvantage of the '371 patent is the integration of the components within the golf cart. Since most golf resorts and country clubs do not own the golf carts, but rather lease them, the resorts and clubs are either not permitted or are extremely reticent to make physical alterations to the carts. In addition, the integration of the various components within a golf cart as an after-market product is a complicated and expensive installation process.
Yet another disadvantage of the system disclosed in the '371 patent is the use of an accumulator system and accompanying solenoid valve. The accumulator is a device which traps air to store energy for supplying water under a substantially constant pressure. The accumulator therefore is implemented to reduce the pulsing of fluid to the mist nozzles caused by the pump. The inclusion of an accumulator and accompanying solenoid further increases the cost and complexity of the system and provides a potential reliability problem since the accumulator reservoir is often an inflatable diagram which may puncture or leak during the rugged operation of the golf cart. Alternatively, the accumulator reservoir is a rigid tank which disadvantageously increases the size of the system, making it difficult to incorporate the system into various types or vehicles or applications.
Consequently, there is a need in the art for a portable, easy to install, inexpensive cooling system.